Going Our Seperate Ways
by PhantomGirl1731
Summary: The Winchesters are back...back to their hunting duo that is. Since their break-up, Max refuses to see or talk to Dean. But hey, life goes on, right? And it's not permanent...right?
1. Chapter 1

**Standard disclaimers apply...hope you enjoy the story :)**

* * *

"**Going Our Separate Ways"**

"Your sister's upset," Lucy commented.

"I know," Luke agreed.

"You know why?" Lucy asked.

"Dean," Luke answered.

"As I thought," Lucy nodded.

"They're so alike," Luke said, "He can't express his feelings, and neither can she. Both are hiding things that are tearing them apart."

"But neither is willing to have share time," Lucy finished the thought.

"Yep," Luke sighed.

The phone rang, and it went straight to the answering machine.

_"Max, it's me," _Sam's voice said. _"Since you haven't been taking Dean's calls, I thought you might take mine."_

"You guessed wrong, Sammy-boy," Max said from upstairs, leaning against the railing.

_"Max, I know you're there, on the upstairs landing," _Sam didn't sound amused. _"Now get your ass downstairs and answer the damn phone like a normal human being."_

Max sighed, "Luke, grab it."

_"Luke, stay where you are."_

Max grabbed her cordless phone from her bedside table, "You are no fun you know that?"

"Max, you need to talk to Dean," Sam told her.

"No."

"Why the hell not?" Sam asked. "He's tried to talk to you!"

"He made his feelings perfectly clear," Max said. "He told me to go. So I did. There was nothing in the agreement that said I had to talk to him after that."

_"Do we still have our apartment, or has she already rented it out?" _Dean barked on the other end of the line, and then there was a door slam.

"You can keep the apartment," Max said, "There's no reason to evict you guys."

"Max…"

"Sam, your brother's an ass," Max snapped. "Until he admits it, there's nothing really to discuss."

Sam sighed. "He's tail spinning, Max. You shoulda seen him take out this vampire! He and Gordon—"

"Gordon..." Max frowned, "I don't even know this guy, and already he sounds like bad news."

"That's what Ellen told me," Sam told her. "I figured I'd tell Dean when he gets back."

"I guess I'll be seein' ya in a few days then?" Max smirked.

Sam rolled his eyes, he knew what she meant by that, and snapped, "What is it with the two of you? Neither of you are acting like yourselves!"

"Sorry Sam," Max said simply. "Look, I've got a flight to catch…I gotta go."

"You really don't care anymore, do you?"

"Goodbye Sam," Max said, and turned off the phone. She walked over to the railing and stood there for a minute.

Luke and Lucy nearly jumped out of their skins when the cordless phone hit the wall on the opposite side of the room and shattered.

* * *

Dean sat at the bar alone, then sighed and cast a sideways glance at Sam when he sat down, "Mary Jane still not in love with Peter Parker?"

"You know she hates it when you call her that," Sam reminded him.

"Which is why I'm glad she ain't here," Dean smirked, drinking his beer.

Sam scowled, "You drove her away man."

"She'll be back," Dean said, returning the beer bottle to his mouth.

"Actually, she said once you admitted you were being an ass she'd come back," Sam said, ordering a beer of his own. "So…she's not coming back."

Dean rolled his eyes, "She forgave me once."

"This is different," Sam said.

"How?" Dean asked. "I didn't cheat on her this time."

"No, you pretty much broke up with her," Sam pointed out. "Very big difference."

"Oh…yeah…" Dean sighed.

An awkward silence began at that moment.

"So...did she rent out our apartment?" Dean asked quietly.

Sam looked at him in disbelief. "Max might be royally pissed at you, but she's not that vindictive."

"Hard to tell, she's been ignoring me for weeks," Dean pointed out.

"Can you blame her?" Sam rolled his eyes.

Dean simply glared at the wall across the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Sara Blake stood outside the security checkpoint at the airport, arms folded, staring straight ahead. She'd been standing there with Max's cousin, Victoria, for the past fifteen minutes.

"So you're Sam's girlfriend?" Victoria asked.

Sara shook out of her daze, "What did you say?"

"You're going out with Sam," Victoria said. "I was checkin'...I know Max and Dean are on the rocks, but I mean...I've only just met you..." She looked away, "And it was a way to make conversation."

"Oh..." Sara responded. "Yeah, I'm going out with Sam."

"He's really sweet," She added. "And intelligent. He's a really great guy."

"I know," Sara nodded. "I just wish he'd come with Max...I want to see him."

"So...how did you meet the Winchesters?" Victoria then asked. "I mean...I met them through Max...and I'm assuming you know what they do...?"

"How do you think we met her?" Max said, making both jump.

"God that Max is an elusive creature," Sara muttered.

"That I am," Max grinned. It was wiped off her face as the air left her when Victoria rammed her and hugged her tightly.

"Max! It's so good to see you!" She squealed, hugging her cousin as though she'd vanish any second.

"It's good to see you to, Vicky," Max choked. Victoria's grip didn't let up, and she locked gazes with Sara, "Sara...a little help?"

"Victoria...maybe you should let Max get some air," Sara said, pulling on Victoria's shoulders.

"Sorry..." Victoria said sheepishly.

"'S all right," Max coughed. She looked at Sara, "Mind if we don't hug? I'm gonna need to recover from this..."

"I've never seen anyone latch onto someone like that before..." Sara replied in amazement.

"I think that's the curse of the Kelly women," Max wheezed, "We're all stronger than we look..."

"So..." Victoria then said, draping an arm around Max's shoulders, then another around Sara's, "I was thinking."

"That's a little scary," Max said.

"I was thinkin' of havin' a girls night out," Victoria continued, "Just you two, me and my friends...we'll all get wasted and have a good time."

"Shouldn't one not get wasted?" Sara asked, "I'd rather not collide with a telephone pole at sixty miles an hour."

"Besides, you get to watch the drunk women get on the stage and try to sing karaoke...it's a riot," Max pointed out.

They were silent as they reached baggage claim.

"So Max..." Sara said, "Have you talked to one of them recently?"

"Yesterday," Max said, folding her arms. "I actually told Sam I left yesterday...so he wouldn't call me today before I left."

"He probably called anyway," Sara pointed out. "That's how he is."

"True," Max said, as her bag dropped down the ramp. She grabbed it, and pulled the handle free, dragging it behind her. "Let's get the weekend started."

"You could at least pretend to be excited," Victoria told her.

"Excitement left about four hours ago when I got on the plane," Max told her.

"Oh this is gonna be a looooong weekend," Sara muttered, following the two.


	3. Chapter 3

"Find anything yet?" Sam asked. He was stretched out on a motel room bed, looking at Dean over his shoes.

"Nope," Dean said, typing a few keys.

It was quiet for a few more minutes.

"That crack looks like a triangle," Sam said, gazing at the ceiling.

"Good for it," Dean answered.

Another few minutes of silence stretched by.

"How 'bout we go to New York?" Sam then asked.

"No."

"No?"

"That's what I said."

"Why the hell not?" Sam snapped, sitting up.

"Let me put it like this. We can go to New York...we will _not _go upstate, nor will we go to Rochester."

"Must I repeat?" Sam asked.

"If I have to be miserable, then so do you."

Sam rolled his eyes, "Jerk."

"Bitch." Dean smirked. He then had to duck the remote Sam chucked at his head.

* * *

"Manicures..." Max said, sitting in the chair.

"And pedicures," Sara pointed out, sitting in the chair beside her.

Victoria sat on the other side of Max; "The tips look good with blue sparkles."

Max looked at the tips of her fingernails, "Yeah, I guess so..."

"Don't worry Max," Victoria said, relaxing. "We'll get to the stuff you like in a little while."

"We've been here for a few days," Max pointed out. "Shopping sprees and a day at the salon...not on the top of my list of things to do."

"You're just mad 'cause you didn't have enough cash for that knife," Victoria told her.

Max stuck her tongue out at her.

"Oh, that's mature," Sara chimed in.

"Girl...what happened to your feet?" The woman said, looking at Max's foot and toenails. "Three scars and all your nails are broken."

"Five..." Max corrected her.

"I counted three..."

Max bent her leg, and grabbed her foot, "No...Five...under my toes, and just above my heel."

The woman frowned, "Oh...huh..." She finished off Max's right foot, then grabbed her left, and frowned again, "Klutzy or prisoner of war?"

"Four scars...and a dog bite..." Max shrugged.

Victoria looked at her in shock, "What the hell...?"

Max shrank down in her seat; "The neighbor's dog really didn't like me..."

Sara shot her a look that clearly said, _'A dog? Yeah right...'_

Max sighed, and muttered, "It really was a dog..."

"Guess your job as a foot model was over before it started then?" Sara asked, giggling slightly.

Max shook her head, "Modeling was never my thing...I was the only girl out of four...or three...there were three boys, I played tackle football with them..."

"And she's not lyin' either," Victoria said. "We once came for a visit, Charlie had a black eye, and Max was in a sling with two teeth missing."

"And those suckers were annoying as hell too," Max said. "'Course...it was one of the reasons I needed braces."

"I thought it was because if they didn't put 'em on your teeth, they would've grown out of your ears," Victoria pointed out.

Max sighed, and shook her head, "That was from _The Cosby Show_!"

"But it was true about your teeth too..." Victoria said. "Never wanted a Max-bite...oh no..."

"Of course, her older sister Lily learned never take Max's toys," Max grinned.

Sara laughed at that, "You both are two twisted sisters."

Max looked at Victoria, "I guess we are."

"I figured you two were sisters," The woman giving Max the pedicure said, "You two look like twins...almost..."

"We're not sisters," The two snapped.

"I'm gonna go brunette," Victoria said. "That way, I'm on the other side of the spectrum from Max."

"What if I wanted to go brunette?" Max asked sarcastically.

"Give me the heads up before I went and turned into a brunette," Victoria shot back. "Only one of us gets to look like 'Pale-Ghost-Chick' under the mop of dark hair..." She frowned, then leaned closer to Max, "Maybe it should be me...don't want a hunter shootin' you with rock salt."

"You win," Max sighed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Somehow I messed up the timeline a little bit...so somehow this part takes place after the lovely season 2 episode "Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things"...enjoy guys :)**

* * *

"How 'bout now?" Sam asked, "Found anything yet?"

"I'm lookin', I'm lookin'," Dean responded in annoyance.

"Just this time make sure it's not a zombie," Sam groused, sticking a pencil inside his new white cast to scratch at his arm. "I don't like this thing."

"You're the one that landed weird," Dean shrugged.

"The whole thing was your idea!" Sam shot back.

"I didn't say get tackled by the dead chick, Sammy," Dean pointed out.

Sam rolled his eyes, the he laughed quietly.

"What?" Dean asked.

"You actually admitted you were bein' an ass, and Max missed it," Sam shook his head, "I shoulda got that one on film."

"Yeah, well...what can you do?" Dean muttered, going back to the computer.

"Maybe...oh, I don't know...apologize to her?" Sam said.

"She doesn't answer the phone, Sam," Dean said in forced calmness. "How do I talk to someone when they don't answer the phone?"

"Think about why she doesn't answer the phone...maybe then you can figure out a way to talk to her."

Dean didn't answer, just kept his eyes on the computer screen.

"You have her number, you _could_—"

"Sam..." Dean cut him off. "That is not what I want to focus on...I mean, there are more pressing issues here, like hunting evil."

"Like I said..."

"What?"

"You were lucky that happened to be a real case, 'cause you would've just found somethin' else to kill."

"Sam, drop it!" Dean snapped, "I mean, we had share time already, and—"

"You have a hell of a lot more explainin' to do, Dean," Sam told him.

"Yeah, like she'll listen," Dean groused, "She won't even answer the phone."

"That _again_?" Sam snapped. "Don't put all this on her, man. Its not like you tried very hard...two calls didn't really count as trying to make amends."

"She used the mind-whammy on me!" Dean shot back.

"I think she was having trouble controlling her shields," Sam told him.

"Yeah, right," Dean scoffed.

"She collapsed when you almost died," Sam told him. "Does that count?"

"What?"

"That's my theory anyway," Sam said. "She was screamin' pretty good that day. When she said her shields were weaker when she was stressed...it made sense..."

"What do you mean she collapsed?"

Sam shook his head, "Exactly what I said. You almost died...and when they'd gotten your pulse, she...well, she said you told me you weren't goin' anywhere..."

"Was her nose bleeding?" Dean asked, remembering Max had a nosebleed before their argument.

"Yeah...a lot..." Sam grimaced slightly. "Then she collapsed...and basically had a seizure." He shook his head, "And that was a weak excuse from the get-go."

Dean sighed, and went back to his computer. _Don't you get it Sammy? It's over...that's why she won't talk to me. She's not gonna forgive me._ He clicked a few keys, and skimmed the article, "I think I found something..."

* * *

"Tomorrow, Max," Victoria said, "I promise. It'll be fun, trust me."

Max sighed, "That's what you said when this whole thing began."

"Yeah, but it took your mind off Dean, right?" Victoria pointed out.

Max sighed, "Yeah, I guess it did."

"There you go." Victoria said, nodding slightly. "Come on, have I ever lied to you?"

"You knew Rosemary wasn't my real mother, does that count?" Max shot at her.

Victoria flinched at that, "Would you have believed me if I told you?"

Max sighed, "Touché."

"We're different, Max," Victoria said. "Everybody's different."

She left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Wow...thanks for that insight," Max said, hugging her knees to her chest. She grabbed her cell phone, and flipped it open. One new voicemail message. She accessed the box, and sighed when she heard one of her clients ask her about a delivery job. Max sighed, and made a mental note to call and set it up in the morning. _Of course it wasn't Dean...why would he call? He was the one that said 'get lost'._


	5. Chapter 5

Dean unlocked the door to the new motel room, throwing his bag on the nearest bed. "I'm tellin' ya Sammy, it's a werewolf," Dean said simply, "Easiest case...just a silver bullet to the heart."

"You'd better make sure it's an actual evil werewolf, and not a Lycanthrope...Max'll be mighty pissed if you kill one of them." Sam pointed out, going to the second bed in the room and plopping down on it.

"Well, Max's furry little friends don't kill people," Dean reminded him. "So, unless one of 'em's gone rogue and decided to rip people apart, I'm thinkin' that we're in the clear."

"You wanna call Max?" Sam asked, "Get an extra hunter in the mix?"

Dean shook his head, "Sam...We don't need Max for this...we've handled werewolves before...what makes this any different?"

"I just meant that she's in Rochester...she's nearby."

"And how do you know she's in Rochester?" Dean rolled his eyes. "She doesn't talk to us, remember?"

"No, she'll talk to me...eventually," Sam corrected him. "But no...Sara's with her...told me they were in Rochester."

"Why are Max and Sara in Rochester?" Dean asked. "Max hates visiting Rochester."

"You drove her to the thing she hates the most," Sam shook his head, "I applaud you for that. But apparently, Max said if she was insane enough to suffer through a week or so with her cousin, she needed someone to keep her from committing murder."

"Yeah, that sounds like Max," Dean admitted.

"That and she said don't tell Max she told us where she is..."

"Max'll kill her if she did?" Dean finished, "Yep, sounds like Max."

"So, like I said...she's not that far away—"

"No Sam," Dean cut him off.

"Dean..."

"Sam, she won't come!" Dean snapped. "Face it...Max wouldn't come if you paid her to."

"She hunted with us last time..."

"And as you pointed out yourself, this time is different," Dean said. "I mean...so I want Max back...so I wish I could take back what I said...but I can't Sam. What's done is done—"

"What's dead should stay dead?" Sam asked quietly.

"I can't believe it always goes back to Max," Dean rambled on, shaking his head. "We've gone on hunts without Max before...lots of times...and it's never like this." He looked at Sam, "You're not gonna let it rest until I get on my hands and knees and beg her forgiveness, are you?"

"Probably not," Sam said, grinning. "I think even she'd get a kick out of that...and that would be the least you could do to try and beg her forgiveness...'cause you screwed up royally Dean."

"First you say beg her forgiveness...now you're sayin' it could all be for nothing!" Dean snapped, "Make up your freakin' mind!"

"I'm sayin' go beg her forgiveness and see if she forgives you."

Dean sighed, "I could beg her forgiveness..." _But what good would it do?_

* * *

Max, Sara, and Victoria walked into the bar with Victoria's friends, Janice, Monica, and Lilah.

"This is gonna be fun, huh?" Victoria asked, draping an arm over both Max's and Sara's shoulders. "Girls' night out!"

Sara and Max exchanged glances, and then looked back to Victoria and her friends.

"Shots!" Monica announced, and got up from the table.

"This is gonna be a long night," Max groaned.

Monica returned with Jell-O shots.

Max grabbed a shot, and paused, "May you make me forget my crappy life...at least for the next couple of hours."

"So the he says...'Just go home, and don't come back'..." Max said in broken speech. "S-s-s-something tells me that's just..." She blinked a little in confusion.

"You forgot what you were going to say, didn't you?" Sara asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Max took a Jell-O shot, slurping the Jell-O loudly, "Jell-O is really good..." She grinned and started laughing in a low voice.

"Max...I think it's time to stop."

Another slurp, and another Jell-O shot was gone, and Max turned to her, "What?"

"Time to leave," Sara said.

"Would I look good as a brunette?" Max asked.

"What?"

"Brew...brew...nette...netee..." Max giggled at her new word. "Netee...that's a cool word." Another Jell-O shot was downed in a slurp.

"Max, you okay?" Victoria frowned.

Max took Janice's Jell-O shot, as Janice moseyed off to find herself a man to dance with. She took that too, and asked, "Nev...Never better..." She grinned stupidly again, "Better...sounds like butter...except it's an 'eh' instead of an 'uh'."

"Okay...time to go home," Victoria said, getting to her feet, "Whoa..." She said, fighting a head rush. "Alrighty then—"

"'Everyone loves a slinky; you gotta get a slinky, slinky, slinky, go slinky go!'" Max sang as Victoria and Sara hauled her to her feet. "You know...from Ace Ventura."

"Yes Max, we know," Sara nodded. "Time to say bye-bye to Mister Jell-O shot."

"But he tastes good...whoa!" Max said, once on her feet.

"What? Gonna be sick?" Sara asked.

"Since when do I wear Sketchers?" Max asked, cocking her head.

"Victoria, what about your friends?" Sara frowned.

"Family first," Victoria said, and then glanced at her friends, who'd already vacated the table. "They'll get over it."

"Right..." Sara nodded.

"Family...peh," Max scowled. "Family thing...I wasn't needed."

"Sure Max, whatever," Victoria said.

"Could've handled it fine on their own," Max continued.

They'd reached the car, and Victoria handed her keys to Sara.

"He really loved his sons," Max added. "Traded his life so one could live..."

Sara frowned, "What?"

"Colt's gone...John's gone..." Max rambled on. "Where was I goin' with that...?"

"I have no idea," Victoria opened the rear door to the car, "Get in there Pinsiatti."

"I'm not Donna..." Max said, sprawling out in the backseat.

"She must've missed the fact that she's a tall redhead," Victoria pointed out.

"Meh," Max flashed the finger, before Victoria shut the door.

"I love you too, cuz," Victoria shook her head. "We'll take her to my mother's house...it's closer."


	6. Chapter 6

Marilyn walked into her guestroom, seeing Max sprawled out on the bed, her head dangling off the foot, her eyes staring at the floor.

"Oh god...kill me now."

"As much as I'd like to, I'm not going to do that," Marilyn folded her arms.

"Great...it just got worse..." Max groaned.

"You took Victoria's advice on how to deal with a bad breakup," Marilyn sat in the chair by the window. "That was your first mistake."

"No, no, no...No..." Max held up a finger. "My first mistake was not kicking Dean's ass when he told me to get lost."

"That's the Max we all know and love," Marilyn said.

"You haven't loved me for eleven years," Max pointed out groggily.

"Honestly?" Marilyn asked, "You terrify me, Max."

Max's brow furrowed, "Come again...?"

"There's something after you Max," Marilyn explained.

"Yeah," Max nodded, and then closed her eyes tightly from the pain. "It's got this master plan for us psychics...which is why it killed Sam and Dean's mother, Sam's girlfriend Jessica, Aunt Melissa, and why it killed Kelsey." She cringed, "And it possessed me, the demonic son of a bitch..."

"Can you blame me for not wanting to become some charred skeleton like my sisters?" Marilyn asked.

"Okay...I think I speak for everyone when I say, Cristo." Max said, watching her aunt carefully. When nothing happened, she sighed, "Sorry...can't be too careful. When people start spouting off explanations you wanted to hear...wait, you're not dying, are you?"

"No," Marilyn frowned.

"They're either possessed or just traded their life for someone else's," Max finished.

"I'm not possessed Max, nor am I dying," Marilyn told her. "That demon really did a number on you, didn't he?"

"Not just the demon...or the Thrall..." Max sighed. "I just wish things could be simple...you know...like normal people. You meet a guy, fall in love...have those damn 2.5 kids, and live happily ever after."

"Some have that," Marilyn pointed out.

"Yeah, but you know what I get?" Max smirked, "Guy who decides to be a priest. Guy who sells me out to a bunch of psychic vampires...guy who leaves me, then almost sleeps with his ex...Then, after making me forgive him for another argument, tells me to go home and not come back. He's thinking, 'get the hell away from me'." She sighed, "This is what I get."

Marilyn was quiet for a minute. "If he's so horrible, why stay with him in the first place?"

"I loved him," Max said quietly.

"Do you still love him?"

Max frowned, "I don't know."

"Max...you have to decide that," Marilyn said. "I can't make that choice for you...Victoria can't...neither can your brothers. You have do decide that on your own."

"I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment," Max sighed.

"No...You just need to figure out who you want in your life...if you still want Dean to be apart of it." Marilyn sighed, "And if you still want him in your life...how do you want him in your life?"

Max was quiet for a second, "That's really sound advice...something I will consider...after..."

"After what?" Marilyn asked, confused.

Max was hissing in pain, "After my vision!" She gripped the blanket, closing her eyes tightly.

_"Sam?" Dean called out, walking along the sidewalk. "Dammit, where'd he go?"_

_A loud bang escaped the alley nearby, followed by a scream of terror. _

_"Dammit," Dean groused, and pulled out his pistol. He ran into the alley, seeing the woman being held down by the wolf-man. "Hey!"_

_Both turned to face him. _

_Before Dean even had time to shout, "Run!" the werewolf grabbed hold of his shirt and flung him across the alley. Dean's pistol flew from his hand and he was dazed from hitting his head against the wall. _

_The woman was forgotten, and she ran screaming from the alley. The wolf pounced on Dean, sinking his teeth into Dean's shoulder before the hunter could move. _

The carpeted floor of her aunt's guestroom came back into view as Max's vision ended. "Vision on top of hangover..." She didn't finish the sentence, she ran for the bathroom, heaving into the toilet.

Marilyn frowned and got to her feet when Max re-entered the room, white as a sheet. "What happened?"

"You know how I have to think about if I wanna forgive Dean or not?" Max asked, swallowing roughly.

"Yes," Marilyn nodded.

"I gotta go save his ass first," Max sighed. "I need a gun."

"Your grandfather's gun collection is in the closet, third door on the left," Marilyn answered. Max raised her eyebrows at her aunt; "I'm just full of surprises, Max."

"Apparently so," Max replied, shaking her head. Then she grimaced, "Oh god...I think I'm gonna be sick again..."

* * *

"Okay...tell us again what we're doin'," Victoria said, sitting in the passenger seat of her car.

Max glanced at her from behind the wheel, "We're goin' to help out a dumbass demon hunter."

"Okay...why?" Victoria asked, "I thought you were tryin' to forget about him!"

"I wasn't trying to forget...think through things yes...but..." Max shook her head, "Victoria, he wasn't bitten by a Lycanthrope! A werewolf that was bloodthirsty and was out for the kill bit him. As mad as I am at Dean, I wouldn't wish that on him, no matter what the case may be." She glanced to the backseat at Sara; "The guns are loaded, right?"

"Yes Max," Sara replied. "Besides, you loaded them yourself before we left."

"Oh...right..." Max nodded.

"You don't seem too surprised he might end up dead," Victoria asked. "Nervous, yes. But not surprised."

Max sighed, "I've had nightmares of 'im dying for months...not to mention lived through the nightmare a couple of weeks ago."

"Oh..." Victoria frowned.

It was silent for a few minutes.

"You guys didn't need to come you know...I coulda taken care of this by myself," Max told them.

"Tom's out of town," Victoria said. "And Sara's got the chance to see Sam...Besides, something tells me you'll need us for the ride back."

"Whatever you say, Max rolled her eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

Dean slowed to a stop, sighing when he saw he'd lost the werewolf. "Great...just...great." He shook his head, "All right, I guess we'll go—"

Sam, who Dean had thought was right behind him, was nowhere in sight.

"Sam?" Dean called out, walking farther along the sidewalk. "Dammit, where'd he go?"

A loud bang escaped the alley nearby, followed by a scream of terror.

"Dammit," Dean groused, and readied his pistol. He ran into the alley, seeing the woman being held down by the wolf-man. "Hey!"

Both turned to face him.

Before Dean even had time to shout, "Run!" the werewolf grabbed hold of his shirt and flung him across the alley. Dean's pistol flew from his hand, and he was dazed from hitting his head against the wall. "Son of a bitch..."

The woman's scream was echoing as she ran from the alley.

Dean saw his pistol lying just a few feet from him, and tried to make a move toward it. The wolf then pounced on him...

"Hey!" A voice called out.

The wolf snarled, and turned to face the speaker.

"You don't want him...he's a dumbass...not worth the effort," Max said, holding her arms out, showing she was unarmed. "Why don't you come after something that's more of a challenge?"

The werewolf stood for a minute, then turned back to Dean, obviously debating on which to go after.

Dean eased his way toward his discarded pistol, fingers closing around the grip.

"Dude, it's not a difficult choice," Max snapped at the wolf. "You either want me or him; you want meat or a challenge?"

Apparently 'meat' was the wrong thing to say. It then whirled on Dean, and kicked at him. Its foot hit the gun, knocking it out of Dean's hand, and earning a string of curses from the hunter as he dodged the wolf's attack. Dean managed to kick it in the head, before it yanked Dean to his feet, and hurled him at Max.

One collided with the other, and both were knocked off their feet.

"Son of a bitch!" Max groused, landing hard on the concrete.

"Yeah, you think I'm feelin' any better?" Dean grumbled.

"Get off me," Max shoved him away, and shot to her feet. She rushed back to the alley, now pulling the pistol from her waistband, and found it empty. After hearing a yell, once again something solid collided with her back, and sent her sprawling in the alley, with Dean cursing having landed on her again. "I guess it didn't realize there was an easier way to do this."

"Maybe it just wants the exercise," Dean responded, rolling off her.

"Or to increase it's laziness," Max got to her feet, and made eye-contact with the wolf, who now advanced toward them, taking its time. "This thing is really stupid, isn't it?"

"Where's my gun...?" Dean grumbled, looking around, as both lost the guns during the collision.

"Uh...hey!" Another voice rang out.

Victoria waved, "Uh...hi!"

Max spotted her pistol, and quickly grabbed it when the wolf turned toward Victoria. "Victoria...don't watch!" She took her shot, and hit it with three silver bullets in the heart.

Victoria stood with her arms over her head, trying to block out the noise and sight, "Is it over?"

"Yeah..." Max nodded, stepping over the corpse. She turned to Dean; "I shot it...you get rid of it."

"And what are you gonna do?" Dean snapped, getting to his feet.

"I'm gonna head back to Rochester, to take my cousin home," Max answered. "I did my job...now it's your turn." And with that, she turned and left the alley, with Victoria in tow.


	8. Chapter 8

"You know, with the bun and the glasses, you kinda look like a lawyer," Dean said, which made Max jump.

Max had been back in her own apartment for a few days now, and had been setting up a courier job with one of her clients. Now, she was dressed in her bonded courier uniform, and sighed, taking off her glasses, "I really need to change the locks."

"Waste of effort," Dean shrugged. "I'd just pick the locks anyway."

Max shrugged in agreement, "Dean, I'm leaving. I have three deliveries to make—"

"I'm sorry."

Max cut off, "Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry…for what I said," Dean told her. "You were right…Sam was right…I was being an ass."

"Understatement," Max said.

"Look, you guys didn't deserve that," Dean continued. "And…I shouldn't have said that to you…it wasn't what I meant to say."

Max was silent for a minute, "Thank you for your apology."

Dean relaxed slightly.

"But I don't believe a word you just said."

"Come again?" Dean asked, confused.

"About the not meaning what you said," Max told him. "Because you were thinking, 'get the hell away from me'. And you actually did say to leave and not come back."

"Max…"

"Dean, I have to go," Max said.

Dean caught her by the arms as she strode past him. "No."

Max yanked on her arms, but he wasn't letting go. "Dean, let go."

"No," Dean repeated.

Max glared at him, "No…no…no. We did this before, remember? I was willing to forgive you last time…but..." She jerked out of his grip, "Look, I'm tired of this. It just keeps going around and around in a circle…it just seems to get good, then something happens, and it all goes downhill." She sighed, "I can't do this…I _won't _do this."

She grabbed her suitcase, and dragged it toward the door.

"So that's it then?" Dean asked. His voice was emotionless, but she knew his face would probably tell her a different story.

Max paused at the door, gripping her suitcase handle tightly. _Go on Max…just walk through the door. Then it'll all be over…he's done it three times now, remember? He left without saying goodbye, he nearly slept with Cassie, and he told you to take a hike…_

The silence was deafening. Max's ears were ringing.

_He's hurt you before, _the little voice in her head was saying. _He's done it before; he'll do it again…_

She turned to face him, and her eyes widened, "Dean, look out!"

Dean dropped, just in time to avoid the hand-painted clay vase that flew at his head. It hit the wall and shattered.

Max was at his side in seconds, "You okay?"

"Yeah…what just happened?" Dean asked, looking at the remains of the vase.

"I have no idea…" Max frowned, "I thought Sam was the telekinetic one."

"Or else your apartment is haunted," Dean pointed out.

"No…I triple checked the building's history. _Nothing _happened here," Max frowned. She felt her nose, "No blood…that wasn't me."

"Then what the hell was that?" Dean demanded.

"We'll figure it out later, I've gotta get outta here," Max said, getting to her feet, and grabbing her bag as she headed for the door.

"Max, wait!"

Max paused, sighing. She turned to face him, "Dean...I have to think, okay? I mean, the record's really goin' against you...hell, after we first met, you left without a word...and the Cassie thing..."

Dean kept his mouth shut, anything he said could be used against him in this court.

"I just need to sort through everything..."

"You had a few weeks to do that," Dean muttered before he could catch himself.

Max snorted quietly, shaking her head in disbelief. She opened the door, and pulled her bag along with her, "Lock the door on your way out."

She met Maggie on the way down; both were standing inside Allison's apartment.

"Did you do it?" She asked.

"We had about five minutes...but we managed to fulfill the request in that time period," Ally smiled. "Dean's gonna be pissed when he finds out."

"That's the whole point," Max smirked, "Come on Maggie."

The two continued down the stairs, and Maggie turned to her, "Are you gonna forgive him?"

Max rolled her eyes, "What do you think?"

"Max, that could go many different ways," Maggie said.

Max shrugged, "Come on..." She paused, "Wait...did you—"

"In your cell," Maggie smiled.

Max flipped her phone open, and grinned widely. She saved the image, and shook her head, finally reaching the parking garage and laughing out loud before she opened the door to her truck.

* * *

Sam and Sara jumped apart as if electrified when Dean burst into the apartment. He slammed the door behind him, and plopped down on one of the barstools.

"I take it things did not go so well," Sam said from his seat on the sofa.

"No, Sam, they went just swell," Dean said sarcastically. "What the hell do you think?"

"You did make her really upset," Sara pointed out.

"Thanks for the update," Dean snapped.

"I told you, you shoulda got down on your knees and begged her forgiveness," Sam told him.

Dean just flipped him off.

Voices could be heard behind the door, and a knock sounded.

"What do you want?" Dean barked, and the door opened.

Noah, Luke, and Lucy poked their heads in, all grinning.

"Hey Dean," Noah said, "You know how you don't like anyone touching the Impala?"

"Yeah?" Dean nodded.

"You're not gonna really like what Max had Maggie and Ally do to it," Luke said, trying to contain his laughter.

"Son of a bitch," Dean groaned, and got to his feet.

The six of them walked down into the parking garage, and Sam and Sara burst out laughing.

Large pink and white hearts had been painted all over the shiny black surface of the Impala. Along with large, loopy, clearly girly handwriting, which said, _Ford Rules, Chevy Drools._

"Dammit Max!" Dean snapped. His cell phone began ringing at that moment, and he answered with, "What the hell did you do that for?"

"Turn about's fair play, baby," Max's voice answered on the other end.


End file.
